Elementary students get a taste of the college life

Notre Dame students pair up with youth in mentoring program.

Notre Dame students pair up with youth in mentoring program.

April 03, 2007|JUDY BRADFORD Tribune Correspondent

SOUTH BEND "Can we do that again?" asks the first-grader, her hands covered with blue paint. The pupils in this mentoring program are just finishing up decorating T-shirts. After they clean up, they'll hear a story, and then go on to learn about ways they can earn money while in college. All are students at Holy Cross School who travel by bus every Tuesday afternoon to the Notre Dame campus to participate in a program called College Mentors for Kids. Each child, called a "little buddy," is paired with a college student so they can see what college is like, get to know a real live college student -- and to emphasize the importance of a college education. Twenty Holy Cross first- through fourth-graders have been able to participate this year. Dominick King, a second-grader, says he likes it because it gives him something to do after school. "It keeps me away from video games," he says. His favorite activity this year was one involving the use of fake money, where the kids learned how to save and spend. His mentor, Dave Crowley, recently sent him a postcard from Florida, where he spent spring break. The program is in its second year at Notre Dame. Last year, Stephanie Gargala, a pre-med biology major, got the idea from her boyfriend. "He was involved with it at Purdue, and he told me how much fun it was and what they were doing," Gargala said. She got in touch with the state office of the program, and launched it as a subgroup of Domers Mentoring Kids. She hopes by next year it will be listed as a university club all on its own. While the state organization tries to target children whose parents didn't go to college, they are flexible enough to allow students with college-educated moms and dads. "The state offices know our kids and their background, and they leave it up to the school to choose the students," Gargala said. The state organization also chose Holy Cross as the local participating school. So far, the kids have also watched the Irish Step Dancing club, and made welcome home signs for area Habitat for Humanity families. They've also toured the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts, and the campus security building. They've written and received letters from their counterparts in the Purdue mentoring program. Paula Alfonso, a sophomore from Los Angeles, says the program gives her a connection with an age group not often seen on campus.